Mission
Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp Association is an autonomous, evangelical, faith ministry dedicated to bringing glory to God by responding to the needs of the whole person according to the Biblical principles of evangelism and discipleship through offering programs in a camp setting.
Staff Team
Stephanie Goodbrand
David Graham
Office Admin & Rental Coordinator
“I have peaked Crowsnest Mountain over 10 times in my life.”
Galatians 2:20
Director of Camping
“Most of the things that are fun about me are not facts; most of the things that are facts about me are not fun.”
Romans 4:17
William Luchka
Meghan Oosterhof
Kirsten Reger
Lois Timms
Volunteer & Office Administrator
“Kirsten is German”
Daniel 3:17-18
Kitchen Administrator
"I was a ski Patrol at the local hill for five years."
Isaiah 61:3
Mason Unrau
Daniel Vanderpyl
Volunteer Coordinator & Registrar
"My favourite vegetables to grow are beets, potatoes, carrots, and parsnip."
Matthew 6:9-13
Director of Outdoor Programs
“Smashing through a gate in an involuntary, high-speed car chase is on my bucket list"
Isaiah 66:2b
Program & Training Coordinator
“I broke my arm playing full contact duck duck goose"
Colossians 3:23-24
Volunteer Relations Coordinator
"My eyes are two different colours."
Philippians 2:12-13
Learn More
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We believe the Biblical scriptures to be verbally inspired in the original manuscripts, without error, the complete revelation of God and of His will for the salvation of man, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith, doctrine and life.
This belief presupposes that there is indeed one eternal God who inspired the Scriptures to reveal His existence, character, actions, and purpose.
We believe that God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and that He was buried and was raised to life on the third day. All those who believe in Him receive forgiveness and eternal life.
We believe that all should accept, strongly hold, and practice everything taught in the Bible, but do not insist that all respond uniformly to any specific teaching; believing that to so insist is at best redundant and has strong potential to be divisive.
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Often, organizations have a stated philosophy, which does not necessarily provide the entire picture. Here we have listed some of our beliefs that underlie our mission statement:
Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp is situated in the midst of a wonderful natural environment. Since the environment is so different from that of the city, we believe that it offers children an opportunity to participate in unique kinds of activities. Therefore, instead of focusing on sports, etc. we have attempted to develop a selection of "non-regular" activities (e.g., mountain climbing, canoeing, archery, hiking, wide games, etc.)
Our location also offers easy access to wilderness areas of the Rocky Mountains. The wilderness is a very powerful facilitator in showing the presence and power of God. We have attempted to use this resource to our benefit by developing an outtripping and backpacking program, which is operated as part of all our camping sessions.
Although camp is for the campers, we believe that the experience of working with children and co-operating as a unit should benefit the staff. The camp experience operates as a training ground for staff as they learn to live with each other and their campers in a close community. We call this discipleship. It is a process of pursuing Christ’s likeness in each of us. It involves more than just following rules. It involves “living beyond the rules” and allowing our attitudes and behaviours to be affected. Because training is an on-going process, we encourage our volunteers and permanent staff to maintain an attitude of learning therefore, being open to feedback on attitudes and behaviour.
Crowsnest primarily operates on a "partially de-centralized" basis. As a result, in most camp sessions, There will be a program director overseeing the program, but the cabin leaders will tend to be highly involved in the running of the program (both input and implementation). We believe that the cabin leaders are the ones who have the greatest interaction with the campers, and therefore the greatest impact. The cabin leaders are able to determine the needs of the campers as the program progresses. Therefore, the program should strive to maximize the impact of the cabin leaders on the campers by increasing the contact between them while at the same time allowing the program director to maintain general control and contact with the group as a whole.
We believe that every child should have the opportunity to attend camp (recognizing the obvious space limitations) regardless of the financial status of the family. Therefore, all camps are offered on a “fee-free” basis to the campers. This also allows us to demonstrate the grace of God as He offers so much to us as a free gift.
While it is important for programs to be challenging and fun, a primary consideration must always be safety. We believe that it is possible to offer challenging and stimulating programs while, at the same time, maintaining a solid safety consciousness.
We are strongly evangelical – we do believe the Lord calls us to join Him in the ministry of reconciliation. We also believe that working with children carries a great responsibility to be sensitive to the issues of free choice. Children are easily influenced by those they respect. This is natural and appropriate. We need to be careful that we guide campers into decisions in the spiritual area of life, that are their own, not ours imposed on them. We don’t want campers to think that they will gain our love and acceptance by “praying a prayer”. We as a camp want to work sensitively with what the Spirit wants to do – He is the One who calls people to Himself.
While we acknowledge that many children are not saved and need to recognize their need of the Saviour, we also believe that we have a responsibility to encourage and disciple those who are His children, that they might grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. This applies to both campers and staff. We demonstrate this in our commitment to training programs and an overall commitment to discipleship.
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Policy Statement on Staff Conduct and Lifestyle
The Mission of Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp is to bring glory to God and effectively respond to the needs of the whole person according to the Biblical principles of evangelism and discipleship. To accomplish this mission, Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp is committed to building a community that fosters the most important kind of growth: in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. CLBC will labour together with anyone who shares our mission and who will contribute to and benefit from our community.
We trust Jesus, who says that the way to bear this kind of fruit is to abide in Him. We are therefore deeply committed to discipleship -- the practice of learning how to walk as Jesus did. As our leaders become aligned with the character of Jesus through the process of discipleship, they become able to obey, and to flourish in the way that God intended. Then our camp community will be equipped to bless those who curse us, and truly to love our enemies.
Our expectation is that the learning transformation of discipleship is difficult. (After all, Jesus learned obedience by the things that he suffered, not the things he enjoyed.) By observing Jesus’ life, and the lives of his followers and disciples, we can identify practices that will aid us/equip us/enable the transformation. These “spiritual disciplines” may include:
Inward disciplines (prayer, fasting, meditation, and Bible study)
Outward disciplines (simplicity, solitude, silence, submission, and service)
Corporate disciplines (confession, worship, hospitality, fellowship, guidance, and celebration).
The practice of the disciplines does not imply that we can earn righteousness. They are merely good and practical advice: Christians have found the imaginative and regular practice of the spiritual disciplines to be helpful, equipping us for work that cannot be accomplished through sheer effort.
We will encourage all of our staff and leaders to follow Jesus closely. We are looking to create disciples, encourage disciples, and live as disciples. Those who are uninterested in a life guided by the Word and the Spirit, or who are unwilling to re-arrange their lives with the intention of walking as Jesus did, may not feel comfortable at Crow. Staff and volunteers who actively undermine or distract from our mission at camp will not be welcome.
Staff Conduct and Lifestyle Agreement
We’ve learned that successfully living in community requires adherence to certain standards of conduct. Our purpose here is not to list a series of rules. Instead, we want to share the general principles that support and motivate our mission, so that potential camp leaders can align their expectation to our practice. We encourage all of our leaders to live beyond the rules, as outlined in Galatians 5:13ff.
Below, some virtues that we have found that contribute to the proper function of our community:
Chastity: Discretion of sexual conduct according to one’s state in life.
Temperance: Restraint; practicing self-control, abstinence, moderation & deferred gratification.
Charity: Generosity, and self-sacrifice.
Diligence: A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work; decisive work ethic, and perseverance. Budgeting one's time; monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness.
Patience: Building a sense of peaceful stability and harmony rather than conflict, hostility, and antagonism; resolving issues and arguments respectfully, as opposed to resorting to anger and fighting. Showing forgiveness and being merciful.
Kindness: Compassion and empathy.
Humility: Having the character to undertake tasks which are difficult, tedious or unglamorous, and to graciously accept the sacrifices involved. Giving credit where credit is due; not unduly glorifying one's own self.
Dialogue: Direct and regular communication; especially when conflict, disagreement, lack of clarity, or confusion threaten unity.
Edification: The instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually; the commitment to build each other up; being sensitive to issues that might be distractions from or obstacles to another person’s relationship with God. Wholesome, polite, reverent, encouraging conversation.
Promptness: Showing up on time for activities, events, and meals.
Courage: Being bold in doing what is right and good, especially when that is most difficult.
Justice: Being fair, even when advantage lies in being unjust!
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but our community celebrates and encourages these virtues. Likewise, we work to displace the vices that oppose them. We believe, and have seen first-hand that this contributes to the success of the Mission of Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp.
If you are uninterested in pursuing these virtues, practices and habits of mind, you may find that you are uncomfortable in our camp culture. If you seek to undermine those virtues, or encourage the vices that are their opposites, you will be disruptive to our mission, and will not be welcome.
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Over the years, Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp has grown and changed in many ways, but one thing has remained the same since that very first camp in the summer of 1956: all our camps are still offered free of charge.
We want children to be able to attend camp regardless of their financial situation. We feel this is one way we can participate in sharing the free grace of God that is offered to all of mankind, without cost, by our mighty God. We seek to operate as a practical object lesson of His generosity to each one of us.
Other things have changed:
1956—the first camp session was run for one week, a handful of campers attended, tents were used for accommodation.
1957—the dining room and washrooms were built.
1957—two weeks of camps.
1965—3 camp sessions.
1967—first Winter Camp Retreat.
1970—199 campers registered.
1971—added another camp session.
1972—first staff training weekend.
1972—first outtrips.
1973—five weeks of summer camps.
1974—the first full-time, year-round, director of camping was hired.
1976—camps are full and we are turning kids away.
1976—out-trip camps are introduced.
1977—308 campers.
1978—add two more camps.
1978—18,000 meals were served at camp between June 20 and Sept 4.
1981—first year for PIT Crew.
1987—COLTS began.
1990—our camper waiting lists continue to grow, so to accommodate more campers we expand to a mobile site; our first Crow ll camp.
1992—added two more Crow ll camps.
1994—construction began on two buildings to house female campers.
1999—campers began using the new girls dorms.
2003—plans are drawn up to begin construction of an office building.
2003—another camp facility & site are given to camp, plans begin to offer three new camps from there, in 2004.
2004— moved a large building in from a Hutterite colony, with the intent of using it for boys dorms, starting in 2006.
2005— add two more camps at the new site. We are now offering 14 kids camps, 5 staff training programs, 1 camp for seniors (age 50 +) & 1 family camp during the 4 months of summer. In the off-season we have Winter Camp for young adults, and two camper reunion weekends.
2005—moved into the new office, ministry to 618 campers.
2006—add a worship training program.
2007—marks our 50th summer! We celebrated with about 600 people over the course of an open house weekend. A highlight for the weekend: getting 50 people to the top of Crow!
2009—we are anticipating the completion of all renovations to the boys cabins and plans are being drawn up for the construction on a new kitchen / dining room / chapel building.
2011 - we moved into the new lodge in May & operated our 1st summer out of the new facility. Preparations are underway to demolish the old facility.
2013 - COLTS II officially becomes a program.
2014 - The old lodge is officially demolished...a winch attached to a tree does the trick.
2015 - Crow II programs are added to Mt. Site location.
2016 - Rock Climbing Camp is added to our list of programs.
2017 - 60th anniversary of camp. 30th anniversary of COLTS.
2019 - Grass playing field is put in.
2020 - Summer programs are modified to out-trip-based camps with a special emphasis on family programs.
2021 - Started hosting programs at Gladstone Mtn Ranch.
2022 - COLTS 35th Anniversary celebration.
2023 - We hosted the well commissioning weekend to celebrate our new water treatment plant. 12 years in the making!
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Crow operates on a yearly budget of ~$450,000 dollars; 10% of that is generated through renting out the facility during the non-summer season. The remainder is received through the donations of interested individuals and churches.
If you are interested in knowing the daily costs of having each child at camp you are welcome to contact us; we have that information available. We strive to limit any requests for money to a simple expression of the needs. We only send financial information to those who specifically request it. It is always available for the asking.
In addition to the traditional ways of donating, we can now accept online donations via credit card. Find out more about the ways you can donate to Crow.
Board of Directors
Kathryn Ferrie
Board Secretary
Appt. 2020
Alex Bird
Board Member
Appt. 2022
Michael Oosterhof
Mark Kadijk
President
Appt. 2017
Vice President
Appt. 2020
2024 Board Meeting Dates
September 21st - In-Person (Lake Site) Board Meeting & Post-Summer Celebration
November 8th - Virtual Meeting @ 7:00 PM MT
January 25th - Annual General Meeting; Hybrid (Online & Lake Site)
If you would like to attend a board meeting, reach out to
Kathryn Ferrie at secretary@crowcamp.ca
CLBC Board of Directors
Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp Association is run by a volunteer policy board that meets together eight times a year. They are responsible for developing policies concerning camp, future planning of facilities, the hiring, supervision and the evaluation of the Director of Camping. Many board members are also volunteers during our summer programs. Board meetings are open for anyone to attend. If you are interested in learning more about what the Board does and how it operates, we welcome you to our meetings. You may also inquire about board membership.
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Each year at our November Annual Meeting, executive members are elected. The executive presently includes a President, Chair of Personnel, Chair of Operations, Chair of Program, Chair of Facility and a Secretary. The executive members all have their special jobs, which they are required to perform in addition to meeting every two months to provide direction for the Board.
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We have both standing committees and ad hoc committees. Our standing committees include personnel, operations, facility and programs. The Board forms ad hoc committees from time to time to do specific jobs.
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Board meetings are generally held once every three months. All meetings are open to attendance by any interested persons. Actual membership occurs by:
prospective member attending a minimum of two meetings
prospective member informs the Board of a desire to join the Board
an open vote occurs to determine whether or not to accept a membership application
Membership is maintained by attending a minimum of two meetings per year.
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The Crowsnest Lake, Bible Camp Association, is incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Societies Act of Alberta. As a result, we are not simply accountable to God to serve Him well, but we are also accountable to the province and people of Alberta in a somewhat secular but very real sense. This legal structure is essential to provide receipts for income tax purposes to those who donate to camp. There is no denominational restriction on who may join the Board or participate in camp programs. There is simply a requirement that members be Christians and be able to bear testimony to that fact in their lives. The Camp Board has the responsibility for determining camp policies, budget and hiring the Director of Camping. The Director of Camping is responsible for full-time staffing and staying within the budget set by the Board. Within our organization, membership automatically entitles the individual to sit on the Board. Although numbers vary, the Board is often at about 10-12 members.
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The Director of Camping oversees the operation of camp, and that person is responsible to hire and supervise all other full-time staff. The Director of Camping is accountable to the Board for implementing Board policies and supervising the staff.
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Camp could not operate without volunteer staff. Each year, 300-400 different people contribute approximately 40,000 hours of their time to camp. Volunteers may be cooks, cabin leaders, program directors, helpers at work parties, etc.
Ethel Langhofer
Board Member
Appt. 2022
Janice Sommerfield
Crystal Stankevich
Board Member
Appt. 1990
Board Member
Appt. 2022
FAQ’s
Here are some questions we get asked a lot. Still have a question? Contact us.
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This question is asked a lot. All camps start at 2:00 and end at 2:00 in the afternoon. If you have any other questions about times for picking up your kids, or dates of camps please go to the specific camp page or contact us.
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We have a handy what-to-bring list available on the site.
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Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp is non-denominational. We are not affiliated with any particular church or denomination. The Association is run by a Board of Directors comprised of individuals who are interested in the ministry of Camp.
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We operate primarily on the donations of individuals. Anyone is free to donate to Camp as God directs them to do so. About one-sixth of our income also comes from off-season rentals of the facility.
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We're located in Southwestern Alberta along Highway 3 near the BC border. See our maps and driving directions for more details.
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Indepth details on camp registration can be found in the Registration section of our webpage. Registration is only online. Our camps fill up very quickly on a first come first serve bases. Summer camp registration opens in March every year. Contact our Registrar, registrar@crowcamp.ca for more information.
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During September to the end of April the camp facilities can be rented by interested groups. For further information and bookings, please contact our Rental Coordinator, rental@crowcamp.ca